By any objective measure, it IS good.

Concrete is not a weather condition.

Concrete is most certainly a weather condition [1]. And better weather doesn't always make for a better environment.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island

The urban heat island is my single biggest point of displeasure living in NYC–I so love sleeping the windows open and a cool night breeze in the summer, which would be very possible in my quiet neighborhood of Brooklyn if it were to actually cool off at night.

Instead we have hot days followed by slightly less hot nights, and I run the A/C all night lest I get no sleep at all.

Drought is an objective measure. Some of us prefer green grass and trees to arid climates.

well, I would say most people would consider weather in SV better than in Ohio. Of course, I agree, preferences differ

You can live a life of wealth and luxury, or you can enjoy the weather.

Note that given the cost difference between living in SV vs Ohio (although I don't live in Ohio) I could spend 12.8 years with my wife at an all inclusive tropical resort. We'd probably get a discount if we lived there full time, so maybe 15-20 years. Not exactly your average retirement home.

Or cash on the barrel no discounts or financial aid at all I could pay list price to send SEVEN kids thru Harvard for four years with a reasonable allowance for expenses and still have money left over. I don't have seven kids, but I guess I could pay cash on the barrel to send a couple thru med school or law school instead, maybe finance a startup or small business for one of them.

Or I could cash buy six rental properties vaguely similar to the house I live in, and retire as a landlord (although from watching my great uncle do this, being a landlord is no retirement!). The rent off six houses, minus realistic expenses, would be a little less than I get paid now, but its interesting to think about.

The cost of room and board at Harvard is $60K/year, so sending 7 kids through Harvard for 4 years is $1.7M.

While you can spend that much for a home in SV, you certainly don't have to.

A house that can support a family of 9?

A house that can support a family of 9 is not cheap even in Ohio if you want to "life of wealth and luxury".

You'll be paying over $1M for a 5 or 6 bedroom house in a "nice" part of Columbus (i.e. German Village), and you'll be paying around $1.2M for such a house in a decent (though not upper class) neighborhood in Silicon Valley.

A 6 bedroom house for $1.2 in SV? Good luck. It would be in disrepair or in a bad neighborhood at that price.

The location is really nice, if you look at what you have around you. Comforts of a big city, youre on the coast, napa at a distance, skiing isnt far away, being able to hike and be close to the wilderness.

The only drawback is cost. But I envy all of those possibilities compared to Miami, where all you have is a big city and sea, maybe watersports but precious little of everything else... and Miami is still not that far behind in terms of cost of living.